E
ven as a kid growing up
in Mainland USA, far away
from the ocean, I’ve always felt
a connection to the sea. I’ve
dreamt about surfing as long
as I can remember. I’d always
been interested in drawing and
painting as a child, but soon
art took a backseat to sports
and school, when I ended up
studying law.
A few years ago, when my
friends started getting married,
I started making paintings as
wedding gifts and I began to
think seriously about making and
selling art. When I was studying
law, all I really cared about was
having time to go surf. So, I guess
it was inevitable that my love for
surfing and art would finally take
over. I quit my full-time job and
took a chance on becoming a full-
time artist.
... And Surfing Life is so glad
Nathan did take that chance.
Nathan has always been intrigued
by wood, and he wanted to
incorporate the natural patterns of
the grain in his paintings...
I had an Aha! moment one day
when I carved too deeply into the
wood and came out the other side.
I tried to resolve the problem and
discovered I could go even deeper
by adding more wood to the back.
Since then I’ve been figuring out
new methods and techniques to
carve even deeper and make my
pieces more 3D.
While I always have a rough
plan of what I want to do, I alwayslet the wood be my main source
of inspiration. It keeps things
interesting, and I think it’s a way
for me to tap into nature’s energy.
I’ll flip through pieces of plywood
until I find one with a pattern that
I like, and then I’ll use the wood
grain to create the design of the
clouds or water. Once I have the
right piece of wood I start carving
the wave and other features that
I want to be 3D. After that I stain
the wood with acrylic paint, and
then use sandpaper to remove
any excess paint and bring out the
natural wood grain. Rather than
painting shadows and highlights, I
rely on the 3D carving to create all
of those little details.
When I’m in the zone and
things are flowing, nothing elsematters – it’s almost a meditative
state – similar to the feeling I get
from surfing and riding waves,
but with the art I’m able to
prolong that feeling for longer.
I always like to challenge myself
by experimenting and pushing
my style in new directions. I like
to try something new with every
piece I make. That’s what I enjoy
most, and it always keeps things
interesting for me.
It can take me a while to make a
new piece – anywhere from a week
to a couple of months for my largest
works. My prices range from a few
hundred to several thousands of
dollars. Most of my biggest fans are
surfers, so I’ll always try to produce
a number of affordable options.